Kristin Scott Thomas

Hailed as one of the greatest actresses of her generation, Kristin Scott Thomas is a luminous British beauty best known for her roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The English Patient (1996) and Gosford Park (2001). More recently, she can be seen in the romantic comedy Easy Virtue, costarring Jessica Biel.

SEX APPEAL

Kristin Scott Thomas isn’t your typical leading lady. Unlike her fellow silicone-enhanced divas, she exudes a sophisticated, grown-up beauty that can clearly be seen in everything from her ramrod-straight posture down to her refined cheekbones and coy smile. These fetching and all-too-rare qualities led to her being chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history in 1995, and by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1997.

SUCCESS

One of the finest actresses on either side of the Atlantic, Kristin Scott Thomas is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA-nominee who has appeared in more than 65 film and television productions, including blockbusters such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Mission: Impossible (1996), The English Patient, The Horse Whisperer (1998), and Gosford Park. Along the way, she’s also shared the screen with a number of Hollywood’s top leading men, including Hugh Grant, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford, and Tom Cruise.

Kristin Scott Thomas Biography

Kristin Scott Thomas was born May 24, 1960, in Redruth, Cornwall, England. The oldest of five children, she experienced the bitter taste of tragedy at an early age when her father died in a fiery plane crash when she was just 5. The incident naturally had a profound impact on her, and Kristin Scott Thomas developed into a withdrawn, insular young woman. “I was very lost as a teenager,” she admits, “which is a horrible way to feel.”

kristin scott thomas moves to france

Kristin Scott Thomas soon found an outlet for her grief in acting, and she followed her new passion to London’s Central School of Speech and Drama before transferring to the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre in Paris. “I felt I had to get out of London, where I was being taunted by this idea to be an actress,” she explains. “I knew in London that it wasn't going to happen because I didn't have the courage and I was told I didn't have the talent.” The prestigious French academy proved to be the perfect place to nurture her skills, and Kristin Scott Thomas appeared in a number of smaller productions before receiving her big break in 1986 when she was cast in Under the Cherry Moon, an experimental drama starring and directed by Prince. "It was like a fairytale,” she says. “When I got the call, I'd been doing a Marguerite Duras play. In a field. In the rain."

kristin scott thomas makes the most of her bilingualism

Kristin Scott Thomas remained extremely busy over the next decade thanks to her impressive ability to work in English and in French. Appearances in critically acclaimed French films such as Djamal et Juliette and Bill en tete were balanced with well-received performances in A Handful of Dust and Bitter Moon, simultaneously making her a star in both France and England.

kristin scott thomas stars in four weddings and a funeral

Kristin Scott Thomas truly became a household name in 1994 when she was cast in Four Weddings and a Funeral alongside rising star Hugh Grant and American model Andie McDowell. The beloved British film picked up a pair of Oscar nominations and lead to subsequent leading roles in Richard III starring Ian McKellen, and Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise.

kristin scott thomas earns an oscar nomination

Kristin Scott Thomas landed the role of a lifetime two years later in 1996 when she was cast as philandering wife Katharine Clifton in The English Patient. The beautifully filmed war drama won nine Academy Awards, and Kristin Scott Thomas’ excellence was recognized with her first Oscar nomination. By now a familiar face on both sides of the Atlantic, she cashed in on her notoriety with leading roles in The Horse Whisperer in 1998 with Hollywood icon Robert Redford, and in the drama Random Hearts in 1999 alongside Harrison Ford.

Up next for Kristin Scott Thomas was the Oscar-winning ensemble drama Gosford Park directed by Robert Altman. "I'd been wondering when Robert Altman was going to call," she says. "When the script arrived, I looked at the character's name -- Lady Sylvia McCardle -- and thought: 'Oh no. Why can't I be the governess or something?' But it was such a wonderful part."

kristin scott thomas stars on the stage

Kristin Scott Thomas found even more wonderful parts on stage over the next few years as she performed in stage versions of The Seagull at the Royal Court and Three Sisters at the Playhouse, for which she was nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress.

kristin scott thomas returns to the big screen

Kristin Scott Thomas returned to the big screen with a vengeance in 2007 in the multilayered murder mystery The Walker. "What I loved about Paul (Schrader’s) script was that these people are lying all the time,” she says. That's what drew me to it -- the idea of that double life, the weight of secrets."

Despite her initial reluctance, Kristin Scott Thomas was also drawn to The Other Boleyn Girl the following year. “I kept saying no to the script. I didn't think I had a big enough part,” she explains. “But they said they'd give me more to do, and when I heard (actor) Mark Rylance was in it too, I caved in.”

Kristin Scott Thomas was seen next in the romantic comedy Easy Virtue starring Jessica Biel, the uproarious farce Confessions of a Shopaholic featuring Isla Fisher, the 19th-century period drama Bronte with Evan Rachel Wood, and the tense French thriller Largo Winch.